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Empanada Lady

5.0 (88 reviews)
InexpensiveSpanish

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Vinee with her chicken empanada
Toune C.

One of my best memories of San Juan. Can wait to go back to Puerto Rico again. One of the best empanadas I've eaten, definitely the best I've eaten at the beach! She could charge double for such yumminess! Crispy flaky shell filled with spices that wakes up your tastebuds!

The amazing Empanada Lady!
Tiffany H.

12/8/19 at 11:50AM: I found the infamous Empanada Lady!!!! We're on the beach right by the Marriott and had been looking for her for the past two days. She was well worth the wait! The empanadas are delicious and a great deal at 2 for $5 (chicken or beef). They are very flavorful and crispy! She's also so so sweet! If you're lucky, you'll find her and get to try her great homemade empanadas.

Empanadas
Andrea M.

We decided to go to the beach in Condado in hopes of finding the famous empanada lady. My children were SO excited when they spotted her within 30 minutes of us arriving. This sweet woman carries around insulated bags full of her delicious homemade chicken and beef empanadas. You get two for $5 and they're huge! I've heard that most people see her around the Marriott hotel but we saw her near the Earl St beach access.

Delicious empanadas on Condado beach! Happy hubby!!!
Sonya M.

We read about the Empanada Lady on Yelp and knew we had to try them. They did not disappoint. She (Minerva?) is a lovey woman and we are looking forward to running into her again on the beach!

Beef
Michael P.

Picture this.... The sun is shining, the waves are crashing and you have a pina colada in hand. You just spent 20 minutes greasing yourself up and now smell like a tropical oasis! You are good to go, right? Well the answer would be yes, thinking that there is absolutely nothing that could make this moment better... WRONG! Then you look over and see out of the corner of your eye, a lady walking around carrying two Las Vegas Marshall's bags... I know what you are thinking, probably the same thing I was when I saw it...Is the Marshall's within walking distance and how did I miss it? When you see this woman, RUN! Directly towards her, do not lose sight of her, do not even think twice about it, just grab some cash and RUN! In those bags, one over each of her shoulders, are the most delicious homemade empanadas, one shoulder is carrying beef while the other has chicken. They are made fresh, still warm (kept in insulated coolers hidden inside the Marshall's bags) and are by far one of my favorite things thus far on this trip. They are 2 for $5 and well worth experiencing! The crust is flaky and the fillings are full of flavor. It is hard to pick a favorite so I highly recommend one of each, and trust me... You are not going to want to share them. She was on the beach around 12/12:30, you can't miss her when she is there, but you certainly need to keep your eye out for her! Eat these, straight from her bag! You won't be disappointed! This is what I came here for, moments like this. Ok, gotta run... It's 11:30, I need to get my ass to the beach so I can start looking out for her!

Nancy G.

Omg her empanadas are delicious!! If you see her, buy some!! You won't regret it!! She's super sweet too!!

Tanner S.

I was blessed with the Empanada Lady's presence today. Best homemade empanadas I've ever had, hands down hardest working 85 year old I've ever met. Everyone on the beach got empanadas from her. I've been living on Condado Beach for 4 months and finally got to try her fabled Empanadas. 10/10 would recommend.

Empanada Lady, gave me my first empanada

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9 years ago

On our last day here, we finally found the empanada lady! Amazing, juicy on the inside, crispy on the outside empanadas. Best in San Juan!

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Review Highlights - Empanada Lady

I cannot believe the strength this woman has at her age carrying around two heavy bags full with empanadas!

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Orozco's

Orozco's

4.0(1k reviews)
0.3 km
$$

The ambiance is casual cool. The service is EXCELLENT! Our waitress answered all our questions and…read morehelped us figure out what we should drink and order. The food was delicious and nice and hot! We had shared a plate and it was just the right size for us. Excellent choice!

So this is the 2nd time going to Orozcos. You can find it in Diners Drive-ins and Dives. So after a…read moredisastrous attempt at sushi across the street we decided to keep it simple and go to the place in Condado that is guaranteed to be great authentic Puerto Rican food. Coño! It was good! I'm Puerto Rican and I was born and raised in Puerto Rican culture and I can say Orozcos is legit. I ordered their amazing Chuleton Kan Kan with arroz con gandules. (Big crispy pork chop with yellow rice and pigeon peas) It was delicious but you have to eat it traditionally with your hands. Don't try to be proper just dig in like the locals do. Just treat of a piece, eat it and then eat some rice. Mmmmm!!! Don't forget their signature hot sauce it's delicious but not too spicy. My daughter and wife ordered the monfongo with Bistec and mini empanadillas which is a regular beef empanada cut in half. Mix some of that hot sauce with it and BAM! You got the perfect appetizer. The monfongo was their star. I was chowing down on my pork chop but I had to steal a few bites lol. The beef was tender and delicious and the monfongo was soaked in the steak sauce, it was bliss! The staff were funny and very efficient and they all helped each other out. The atmosphere was personal and small with amazing salsa music playing and air conditioners blasting. It was so comfortable I highly recommend Orozcos!!!

Photos
Orozco's - Seating area

Seating area

Orozco's
Orozco's - Tree milk

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Tree milk

Santaella - FILETE DE SALMÓN ORIENTAL

Santaella

4.3(687 reviews)
1.0 km
$$$

Kept seeing a bunch of reviews on how amazing this place was and honestly it's up there…read more To start off, I'm not really a sweets guy so my take is going to be a little off from the general public. We were able to snag a reservation but for a late time which was about an hour and a half before close. The service was super great but one thing I wished they mentioned that the bottled water was going to be a $40 charge lol. Makes sense for any upscale restaurant though. Should've mentioned we wanted tap so fair warning, ask cause you WILL get charged haha. We had a group of 10 and for how big the group was, the food came out pretty fast. I don't think we ever had a time between drinks to entrees where we were waiting for food to come out. We got the watermelons mojito for drinks since it was the most raved about. It was good but personally nothing crazy for me. 8/10 score on that. We also curry popcorn chicken, the ahi tuna lollipops, the empanadillas and the goat cheese quesadillas for apps and honestly overall 9/10. This is where I don't like the sweetness part of this meal. The empanadillas were what I was most excited for but it was more sweet then savory which sort of lose my appetite a little. I think if you like that kind of taste then it's going to be good. It wasn't a bad taste at all. Just too sweet for my liking. The curry popcorn chicken was good and the lollipops were great. Again, nothing crazy. The goat cheese quesadillas was good as well but again, too sweet for my liking. Now on to the entree, they didn't have the porkchop since we came late so I ended up getting the porkchop belly dish. When it came out, it looked amazing but then I got a whiff of it and smelled cinnamon. That's when I was sort of disappointed. It was like eating pork but tasting Cinnamon Toast Crunch and as said before, it tasted great but too sweet for me. This one was way too sweet to where it seemed like a dessert item. I just had poor luck and got one of the one items that were sweet. This doesn't tank the rating down whatsoever because I also should've read it had cinnamon. It would've been great if they made a dipping sauce or something to pair it with and not have it on the pork belly itself. I got to try other dishes my friends got which were good as well but I wish I got to try something else. If I came back I would try the sold out item which was the pork shank or the sea bass. I know for a fact the sea bass was amazing. Had a bite of it and thought "I'll come back for that" Overall, 10/10 experience and nothing bad about the place but gotta try different items when I go next time. I understand the hype now

This restaurant was a must-try after seeing everyone rage about it online, and it definitely lived…read moreup to the hype. Out of all the restaurants I visited in Puerto Rico, my friends and I came to the agreement that this was definitely the best one, and I can't believe we almost didn't come! To start off, the staff is super nice and made us feel welcome. I may be biased because one of them complimented my "gracias" (lol) but they were accommodating and patient as we had a hard time deciding what we wanted to order, since everything looked so good! The pinchos de atun was a must-try since everyone online was talking about that dish in particular, and it was AMAZING. The tuna is so fresh and complimented so well by the sauce and the rice cracker. The ceasar salad was flavorful and a great addition, since we didn't have much veggies at that point in our trip. And the sea bass!! SO tender and delicious. We also got the perfect lady cocktail and the guava & cheese bread pudding, and both were perfectly sweet and balanced out the rest of the meal. Everything about this place was amazing. The inside of the restaurant is very pretty and it's located near La Placita, so easily accessible to the nightlife if you want to party afterward. I will definitely be recommending Santaella to all my friends and coming back if I visit San Juan again.

Photos
Santaella - Dinning room area

Dinning room area

Santaella - Tomatoes with Parmesan Cheese Ice Cream

Tomatoes with Parmesan Cheese Ice Cream

Santaella - Pulpo Parrilla

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Pulpo Parrilla

Cocina Al Fondo - Rabbit meatballs, root vegetables 'al pilón' - good!

Cocina Al Fondo

4.6(93 reviews)
0.9 km

Beautiful restaurant with outstanding, creative dishes…read more My husband and I ordered one app and two entrees. The portions were very large, and we would have been fine with just two menu items! To start, we had the roasted eggplant, lamb 'picadillo', date sofrito, 'Feliche' yogurt. Really delicious and probably best for sharing among 3-4 people as it's a bit heavy given the lamb. Nevertheless, it was really good and we finished it! For entrees, we tried the (1) rice with rabbit, sweet plantain in its leaf and the (2) breaded pork loin, mushroom cream, cherokee tomatoes from San Lorenzo, tostones. Our server was super excited when we ordered the rice with rabbit and I understand why. It was insanely flavorful. Also a massive portion haha. We really enjoyed this. The pork loin was delicious as well, especially with the mushroom cream. Plantains are one of my favorite foods, and these tostones did not disappoint. The restaurant itself is beautiful. It's a nice mix of modern decor with homey, vintage elements. There is a very large outdoor space, but I'm really glad we ate inside. Definitely recommend - especially for a group that likes to share!

What a perfect dining experience. The staff genuinely seem thrilled to work there. They made us…read morefeel so welcome. They were also so excited to recommend dishes from their expansive menu! Beautiful layout with roomy indoor seating arrangements and a lovely outdoor seating space. Bathrooms were pristine with a changing table Food: Corn fritters with cod & heirloom tomatoes - light and delicious, packed with layers of flavor. Nice blend of textures from crispy to the savory tender fish and the tomato crisp Chicken thigh chicharrones - wow. So good. Tender and flavorful Prawns - plump and tasty. Soaked in a wonderful stew I would say 3-4 dishes is good for 2 people with a healthy appetite Would 100% like to come back the next time we are in Puerto Rico

Photos
Cocina Al Fondo
Cocina Al Fondo - La Maja cocktail, Beets and 'Lucía' goat cheese terrine, honey, cherry tomatoes, almonds, artisanal bread toast - lovely

La Maja cocktail, Beets and 'Lucía' goat cheese terrine, honey, cherry tomatoes, almonds, artisanal bread toast - lovely

Cocina Al Fondo - Funky Fashion - their twist on Old Fashioned

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Funky Fashion - their twist on Old Fashioned

Empanada Lady - spanish - Updated May 2026

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